''Los Andes no creen en Dios'' () is a 2007 Bolivian film directed by . It is a drama set in a mining town in the Andes in the 1920s.

Synopsis

The film is loosely based on the 1974 novel ''Los Andes no creen en Dios'' by Adolfo Costa du Rels and two short stories by the same author, ''La Misk'isimi'' (''Sweet Lips'' in

Quechua Quechua may refer to: *Quechua people, several Indigenous ethnic groups in South America, especially in Peru *Quechuan languages, an Indigenous South American language family spoken primarily in the Andes, derived from a common ancestral language ...

) and ''Plata del diablo'' (''The Devil's Silver''). The film is set in the late 1920s in the small and remote mining town of

Uyuni Uyuni ( Aymara, ''uyu'' pen (enclosure), yard, cemetery, ''-ni'' a suffix to indicate ownership, "the one that has got a pen", "the one with a pen") is a city in the southwest of Bolivia. Uyuni primarily serves as a gateway for tourists visiting ...

in the highlands of Bolivia, lying between a vast salt desert and towering mountains. The hero is Alfonso Claros, a young writer who has been educated in France and who arrives in Uyuni seeking to make his fortune in mining. He begins an affair with the sultry

mestizo ( , ; fem. , literally 'mixed person') is a term primarily used to denote people of mixed European and Indigenous ancestry in the former Spanish Empire. In certain regions such as Latin America, it may also refer to people who are culturall ...

Claudina, but breaks it off due to local prejudice. Claudina turns to Joaquín, a friend of Alfonso, destroying the friendship between the two men. Alfonso befriends Clota, a former singer and now the local brothel keeper. Alfonso joins Genaro, a mystic and expert prospector, on a search for a gold vein in the mountains, and the quest turns out to be a turning point in both men's lives. Returning to Uyuni, Alfonso finds that Claudina and Clota have aroused the intolerance of the priest and the local women, who have embarked on a campaign against them. Sickened by events, Alfonso leaves Uyuni. Twenty years later, Alfonso is on the way to take up the position of Bolivian ambassador to France, when his train stops over in Uyuni. He meets Joaquín by accident, and as he remembers Claudina is confirmed in his feelings about Joaquín.

Production

Planning for the film started in 1996, but was postponed for several years. The screenplay was finalized in 2003 and 2004, filming was done in 2005, and editing, sound, music and post production completed in 2006 and early 2007, with the film ready for release in March 2007. Over $500,000 was spent on production, a large amount for Bolivia, caused in part by the number of locations and the historical sets with period cars and steam locomotives.

Reception

''Los Andes no creen en Dios'' was Bolivia's submission to the

80th Academy Awards The 80th Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored the best films of 2007. The award ceremony took place on February 24, 2008, at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles. During t ...

for the

Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film The Academy Award for Best International Feature Film (known as Best Foreign Language Film prior to 2020) is one of the Academy Awards handed out annually by the U.S.-based Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is given to a ...

. It was not accepted as a nominee. The film was nominated for the Best Film Award at the

Cartagena Film Festival The Cartagena Film Festival (), or FICCI, is a film festival held in Cartagena, Colombia, which focuses mainly on the promotion of Colombian television series, Latin American films and short films. The Cartagena Film Festival, which is held ever ...

Cast

Diego Bertie Diego Felipe Bertie Brignardello (2 November 1967 – 5 August 2022) was a Peruvian actor and singer. His performances spanned in film, theatre and television. He studied at Markham College in Lima, Peru and was also a singer in the mid eighti ...

- Alfonso Claros *

Carla Ortiz Carla Ortiz Oporto (born 2 December 1978) is a Bolivian actress, model, producer, activist and philanthropist. Early and personal life Ortiz was born in Cochabamba, Bolivia. After a brief career as a professional tennis player, she moved to Mex ...

- Claudina Morales * Milton Cortés - Joaquin Avila * Jorge Ortiz Sánchez - Genaro * Shlomit Baytelman - Clota

References

External links